MUR 019 | NICOLAS FIELD + LAURENT VALDES || WAITING FOR THE SHORE
Waiting for the Shore is an ongoing artistic research project by Nicolas Field and Laurent Valdès, developed during their residency. Through photography, music, video, field recording, writing, and installation, the project reflects on the shifting and porous nature of the shore.
Although based in landlocked Geneva, the artists have long been drawn to maritime geographies—especially islands. Their collaborative practice often traces such encounters, probing thresholds, contours, and the elusive edge of perception. In this iteration, they follow a conceptual axis that cuts across the island, aligned with the earth’s axial tilt, to observe, listen to, and record the shore—not simply as a line, but as a site where memory, matter, and motion converge.
Coastal mapping in motion — the journey continues along the island’s northern peninsula. From the first blush of sunrise to the long shadows of dusk, Laurent and Nicolas trace the shifting edge where land meets sea, capturing the shore through systematic observation and image-making. The shoreline defines the island’s physical limits, yet it is also a point of emergence — where land, sea, and atmospheric forces meet and interact.
This mapping process is both attentive and open-ended. It records not only the present contours of the island but also its continual transformation, shaped by erosion, weather, tidal rhythms, and human activity. Waiting for the Shore becomes an act of attunement — to subtle changes, temporalities, and what slips through the membranes of place.
Nicolas Field born in London and is a Swiss artist, experimental musician based between Geneva and international stages. Trained in percussion, sonology, and media arts (Amsterdam Conservatorium, The Hague, and Genève, his practice spans sound performance, installation, and interdisciplinary collaboration. Active since the early 2000s, Field has performed globally and worked with artists including Keiji Haino, Otomo Yoshihide, and Jacques Demierre. His installations explore the relationship between sound, space, and perception, and have been shown at venues such as MEG (Geneva), Netwerk (Aalst), and the Design Biennale (Saint-Étienne). He collaborates across dance and theatre, and his recent works include Shimmering Beast and To the Bone.
Laurent Valdès is a Swiss artist and videographer whose multidisciplinary practice encompasses performance, installation, scenography, and artist books. A graduate in cinema from the École des Beaux-Arts de Genève, he later completed a Master’s in Visual Arts at HEAD – Genève. His work explores themes of space, memory, and narrative, often presented through immersive installations and collaborative performances. His projects frequently delve into the concept of "inhabiting," examining material, literary, and audiovisual traces in locations such as Hong Kong and Japan. He regularly collaborates with choreographers, directors, and musicians in the performing arts and has co-founded editorial initiatives like A•Type and Permacriture.